The Serb

Chapter 22 - A Promise

Rosa's POV:

The whole building trembles.

Peeking over Niko's shoulder, wood dust falls all over the dark room.
Niko puts me down, and turns the lights on. It emanates from single hanged lamps that move around from the impact.

They reveal the messiest living room I have ever seen. There are dirty clothes and objects thrown eveywhere, as well as used dishes with rotting food over the table. The wallpaper is falling off the walls.

Since I am barefoot, I can feel the greasiness of the stained carpet first hand.

Niko walks towards the couch and throws all the things that over it on the floor. He cleans something with his shirt's sleeve.

He keeps standing, so I think he wants me to sit?

The couch looks pretty old, like all the furniture in this house - in fact, this whole place looks like it is about to fall apart.
I sit over the couch, and I feel something slightly wet. I take Niko's jacket off, and sit over it.

I am big on cleaning, I can't stand mess. Everytime I went to Lila's apartment I had to control myself to not start cleaning things up. I don't think staying in this place will do much good for me mentally... But it'll not make things any worst than they already are in my head.

Niko turns on the tv. It is a very old model, and there's nothing paying besides static.

"I will get something for you to eat." Niko says, walking towards the other room. "Do you like instant lamen?"

"It's okay." I answer.

He laeves. It is... Weird being without him. We've been glued together for all this time

I hear my stomach growl. Yet, I don't feel like eating. Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up.

It almost makes me jump, when all of a sudden loud music starts.
Then there's a grainy title screen in cyrilic, and a man announces It.
An old cartoon starts. The characters are the type that would have given me nightmares as a child. Though It is in a foreign language, it has a Tom&Jerry like plot, so it is not hard for me to follow.

As weird as it is, It is quite entertaing...

I hear a loud boom.

The hell?
I stand up and let my wobbling legs take me to the direction it came from.

I am in a narrow corridor, even more polluted than the living room. There's an open door, and smoke is coming from it, and a strong smell of something burnt.

"Niko, are you-"

"Here it is."

Niko's extends his arm out, holding a cup of instant ramen with a fork inside. I slowly walk closer and take it. 

"Please, don't enter the kitchen."

He disappears back inside. I wonder what he is 'cooking' there...

I go back to the living room, trying to not stumble on the many things around. I sit back on the couch.
I look at the warm cup in my hands. I don't feel like eating, but I know I have to.. I swirl the fork inside, and take a mouthful of the ramen. The taste is bland, so it is not hard to force myself to eat it.
I have the tv to distract me, so I eat in an automatic manner.

"Ah, I love this one!" I hear Niko's voice - though it doesn't register as him immediatly as he sounds so cheerful.

Niko enters the room, his right arm holds a tower of platic pots and dishes, using his chin to keep it all un balance. With other arm he has a metal kettle and two cups.
His sleeves are up, and arms and face are covered with black powder, and he smells of smoke. He clumsily puts it all on one of the few vacant espaces in the center table. He sits on a stuffed armchair beside the couch.